NYPD advised not to punish bare-breasted women

Though the reason is unknown, the morning's roll call has included this notation for 10 consecutive days

By J. David Goodman
The New York Times

NEW YORK — In the cold of February, as New York City police officers gathered for their daily orders at roll call, they were given a rather unusual command, for both its timing and its substance: If they happened upon a topless woman, they were not to arrest her.

The command was repeated until it was read at 10 consecutive roll calls. Each of the city’s 34,000 officers, in theory, got the message: For “simply exposing their breasts in public,” the officers heard, women are guilty of no crime.

Whether any officer encountered such a brave-hearted, bare-chested soul is not clear, nor is the reason for the Police Department’s concern about such matters in the dead of winter.